[Peace-discuss] Just Foreign Policy News, August 22, 2006

Tue Aug 22 14:14:38 CDT 2006

Just Foreign Policy News
August 22, 2006

Summary:
U.S. Politics
President Bush Monday seized on Democratic calls for withdrawal from Iraq to
make an election-year case that his political rivals did not properly
understand the threats to the nation and would create a more dangerous
world. Activists in New Haven asked for Sen. Joe Lieberman's Democratic
party afffiliation to be revoked, citing state law calling for such
affiliation to be "stricken or excluded" for two years if someone runs for
office as a candidate of a different party.

Lebanon
President Bush called Monday for swift deployment of UN peacekeeping troops
to southern Lebanon, as European governments put off committing forces to
the effort; potential contributors are expressing concern about the rules of
engagement. Italy has said it would be willing to lead a force in southern
Lebanon, but only if Israel respected the truce. The aura of imminent
violence is pervasive in southern Lebanon, the New York Times reports.

Israel
A group of Israeli reservists demanded the resignations of top officials and
a national inquiry; they say that planning, training, and supplies,
including food and water, were inadequate. Prime Minister Olmert dismissed
the criticism, as well as widespread calls, including from his own cabinet,
to resume negotiations with Syria.

Iran
As expected, Iran has apparently rejected the demand of the UN Security
Council that it freeze its uranium enrichment activities. (It had said that
it would give a formal response today.) The Iranian government is willing
negotiate and consider a freeze, but will not accept a freeze as a
precondition for the talks. U.S. officials said they would push for strong
financial sanctions against Iran and expected support from Europe.

In this issue:
U.S. Politics
1) In Election Push, Bush Faults Talk of Iraq Pullout
2)  City Asked To Un-"Democrat" Lieberman
Lebanon
3) Bush Calls Need for Robust Lebanon Force "Urgent," as Europeans Continue
to Seek Specifics
4) War Lingers in the South of Lebanon
5) Italy steps in with Lebanon offer
Israel
6) Israeli Reservists Demand Olmert's Resignation
7) Olmert Rejects Syria Talks, Dismisses Soldiers' Protests
Iran
8) Iran Reportedly Rejects Demands to Halt Nuclear Efforts
9) Former President of Iran Invited to Speak in D.C.
Iraq
10) Violence melts last remaining pleasures in Baghdad
11) JonBenet Ramsey and Abeer al-Janabi
Palestine
12) Hamas speaker charged in Israel
Mexico
13) Mexico teachers extend protests

Contents:
U.S. Politics
1) In Election Push, Bush Faults Talk of Iraq Pullout
Jim Rutenberg, New York Times, August 22, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/washington/22bush.html
President Bush Monday seized on Democratic calls for withdrawal from Iraq to
make an election-year case that his political rivals did not properly
understand the threats to the nation and would create a more dangerous
world. It effectively signaled the beginning of a more outright political
season for him and his aides as they work to help Republicans maintain
control of Congress. The appearance offered a preview of the themes the
White House and Republicans will use this fall during their most daunting
electoral challenge of Bush's presidency, with continued voter
dissatisfaction over the course of the war, the high price of gasoline and
the president's overall job performance. Democrats have pointed to polls
showing public support for the war continues to wane, and the president
acknowledged as much on Monday. Analysts from both parties have called the
war the biggest political liability facing the Republicans this year. Bush's
aides have urged fellow Republicans to embrace the conflict, and Bush seemed
to go a step further, suggesting that he hoped the midterm elections would
be fought over rival approaches on Iraq.

2)  City Asked To Un-"Democrat" Lieberman
New Haven Independent (Connecticut) - Tuesday, August 22, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0822-03.htm
The activists in New Haven, led by Henry Lowendorf of the Greater New Haven
Peace Council, cited Section 9-61 of Chapter 143 of the state statutes in
their request. That section allows for a Democrat's party afffiliation to be
"stricken or excluded" for two years if he runs for office as a candidate of
a different party. (
http://search.cga.state.ct.us/surs/chap143.htm#Sec9-60.htm)

Lebanon
3) Bush Calls Need for Robust Lebanon Force "Urgent," as Europeans Continue
to Seek Specifics
Helene Cooper, New York Times, August 22, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/washington/22prexy.html
President Bush called Monday for swift deployment of UN peacekeeping troops
to southern Lebanon, as European governments put off committing forces to
the effort. A UN resolution on Aug. 11 authorized a force of up to 15,000
troops, but diplomats are talking of reducing that number substantially,
particularly in light of France's refusal so far to commit more than 200
troops. Diplomats said the force would probably not number more than 6,000
or 7,000 troops. Potential contributors, many of whom helped draft the
resolution that authorized the force, are expressing concern about the rules
of engagement, including what troops would be required to do. Prime Minister
Romano Prodi of Italy told reporters Monday that his country was ready to
lead the force, and would contribute perhaps 2,000 troops. Several Muslim
countries have pledged troops, but Israel has said it does not want
countries in the force that do not have diplomatic relations with it. The
delay has heightened concern that the cease-fire, which wobbled somewhat on
Saturday after Israel launched strikes in the Bekaa, might crumble.  France,
after indicating that it would lead the force with a substantial troop
contribution, has come under fire for its offer of only 200 troops,
particularly given that it negotiated the resolution calling for the force
and laid out the rules of engagement it now says it does not understand.
Some said a schism between the French Foreign Ministry and the country's
military command may be responsible for the pullback.  "It's like when
Powell would negotiate something, and Cheney would say no," a US official
said. A defense specialist at the Center for European Reform offered another
view: "The French don't want to be seen occupying a Muslim country…Shooting
at the Israeli Defense Forces also would not go down well with the French
Jewish community." He said the Italians "have less baggage than the French"
because there are fewer Jews in Italy and because the Italians have less of
a history of colonizing Muslim countries. Except for Italy, the European
response so far has been dismal, UN officials said. "They've offered ships
and frigates to police the Mediterranean," said one official, "We need
boots, not boats."

4) War Lingers in the South of Lebanon
Hassan M. Fattah, New York Times, August 22, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/world/middleeast/22lebanon.html
More than a week after a UN cease-fire took hold in Lebanon, the fighting
has come to a halt, but the trappings of war linger on. The eerie sense of
quiet in the villages and towns on southern Lebanon's western edge
underscores the sense of a war frozen in time, with the combatants still
facing off and the deployment of international and Lebanese soldiers just a
promise. The aura of imminent violence is pervasive. "I can tell you we're
still at war," said the mayor of Shamaa, a village less than 10 miles from
the Israeli border. Israeli troops and Hezbollah soldiers clashed here on
Monday, AP reported, leaving three Hezbollah fighters dead. "They don't want
peacekeepers here; they want someone to destroy Hezbollah," the mayor said.
"Our safety is irrelevant. They just want to protect the border." Israeli
military officials said that all of the reservists called up last month had
been pulled out of Lebanon, but regular soldiers, estimated at 8,000 to
10,000, remained in Lebanon, awaiting the arrival of an international
peacekeeping force. Hamaa remains a virtual ghost town as residents keep
their distance. "The Israelis are still here and there are unexploded bombs
everywhere," the mayor said.

5) Italy steps in with Lebanon offer
BBC News Tuesday, 22 August 2006, 15:22 GMT 16:22 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5273188.stm
Italy has said it would be willing to lead a force to police the ceasefire
in southern Lebanon. But Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema warned his country
could only fulfil its offer if Israel respected the truce. "It is right to
demand that Hezbollah give up its weapons but we cannot send our soldiers to
Lebanon while the Israeli armed forces continue to fire," he said. Italy's
"positive role" has been welcomed by the Lebanese cabinet; Israel has also
said it would be happy if Italy led the force. But Italy's offer appears to
be conditional on an agreement being reached on a new UN resolution. Deputy
UN Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown rejected Israel's view that
countries it has no diplomatic relations with - such as Malaysia and
Indonesia - should be excluded from the force. "[The UN peacekeeping force]
must enjoy the confidence of Israel, but that doesn't give them a right to
blackball individual contributions," he said.

Israel
6) Israeli Reservists Demand Olmert's Resignation
Steven Erlanger, New York Times, August 22, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/world/middleeast/22israel.html
A group of Israeli reservist soldiers who served during the recent fighting
in Lebanon, Monday demanded the resignations of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,
Defense Minister Amir Peretz and the army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan
Halutz. The reservists say that their training was inadequate and that they
were sent into Lebanon with unclear missions, inadequate supplies, outdated
equipment and a lack of basics, like drinking water. They called for a
national inquiry into how the war was waged.

7) Olmert Rejects Syria Talks, Dismisses Soldiers' Protests
Doug Struck, Washington Post, Tuesday, August 22, 2006; A10
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/21/AR2006082101303.html
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday ruled out peace negotiations
with Syria and rejected criticisms of the Lebanon war as reserve soldiers
expanded their protests over the government's handling of the conflict.
Olmert's Public Security Minister Avi Dichter said Monday that Israel ought
to restart the negotiations with Syria that ended in 2000. Since the
fighting in Lebanon, there has been increasing public debate over whether to
seek a deal with Syria that would bring peace to the border. "What we did
with Egypt and Jordan is also legitimate in this case," Dichter said. A
peace deal with Syria would involve Syria's demands for a return of the
Golan Heights. "Before we negotiate with Syria, they should stop financing
terror," Olmert said. He added: "The antitank weapons which took the lives
of very many of our soldiers were supplied by Syria. I can tell you Syria is
a committed, aggressive member of the axis of evil."

Iran
8) Iran Reportedly Rejects Demands to Halt Nuclear Efforts
Fred Barbash and Dafna Linzer, Washington Post, Tuesday, August 22, 2006;
10:56 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/22/AR2006082200367.html
Iran's semi-official news agency reported today that Tehran has "rejected
suspension of its nuclear activities" as demanded by the United Nations
Security Council but has proposed a "new formula for resolving the issue
through talks." The Iranian government told senior European officials that
it will not accept the condition set by the Bush administration and its
Western allies for talks on the country's nuclear program and will continue
enriching uranium, despite the threat of international sanctions, senior U.S.
and European officials said yesterday. Diplomats said the Iranian government
is willing to enter negotiations and to consider a freeze of the program,
but it will not accept a freeze as a precondition for the talks. U.S.
officials said they would push for strong financial sanctions against the
Tehran government and expected support from Europe.

9) Former President of Iran Invited to Speak in D.C.
Robin Wright, Washington Post, Tuesday, August 22, 2006; A11
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/21/AR2006082101685.html
Despite a looming diplomatic showdown with Iran over its nuclear program,
the Bush administration has agreed to issue a visa to former Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami to give a public address at the Washington
National Cathedral next month, according to the Rev. Canon John L. Peterson,
director of the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation. Khatami would
be the most senior Iranian to visit Washington since Iran's 1979 revolution.
Evan Anderson, deputy director of the Center For Global Justice and
Reconciliation, said the visit comes at a critical juncture in
U.S.-Iranrelations, particularly in light of the current crisis in the
Middle East.
The Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of the cathedral, said, "It will be an
honor for the cathedral to provide a platform for President Khatami." He
added: "President Khatami's commitment to a dialogue between civilizations
and cultures is an important component in the peace process. This is much
needed in the world today." In February, Khatami founded the International
Institute for Dialogue Among Civilizations and Cultures. He plans to speak
in Washington on the dialogue of civilizations and the role the three
Abrahamic faiths can play in the peace process. Plans call for the event, at
the National Cathedral at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 7, to be free and open to the
public.

Iraq
10) Violence melts last remaining pleasures in Baghdad
Reuters - Sun Aug 20, 2006 5:42 AM ET
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-08-20T094149Z_01_BUL842666_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-ICECREAM.xml
It was one of Baghdad's last remaining pleasures, but even eating ice-cream
is now too risky."I have brought my family just once this season. Each year
is worse than the last," said Abdul Rasoul Majeed, a civil servant, savoring
a rare vanilla ice-cream in Al -Ballut, a usually popular parlor in central
Baghdad. Bombs and bloodshed drove Iraqis from the streets, parks and
playgrounds of their capital long ago. But they kept coming out for
ice-cream, at least until February, when a spasm of sectarian violence
pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war.

11) JonBenet Ramsey and Abeer al-Janabi
Juan Cole, Informed Comment, August 22
http://www.juancole.com/#115623480111764195
Although I mind this pollution of the air waves with something that is not,
whatever it is, news, the main thing I mind is the racism. The case of Abeer
al-Janabi, the little fourteen-year old Iraqi girl who was allegedly raped
and killed after being stalked by a US serviceman would never be given the
wall to wall coverage treatment. That is frankly because the victim was not
a blonde, blue-eyed American, but a black-eyed, brunette Iraqi. Both victims
were pretty little girls. Both were killed by sick predators. The very
pedophiliac nature of the crime is more or less covered up in the case of
al-Janabi.

Palestine
12) Hamas speaker charged in Israel
BBC News Tuesday, 22 August 2006, 16:03 GMT 17:03 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5275340.stm
An Israeli court has charged the speaker of the Palestinian parliament,
Abdel Aziz Dweik, with being a member of the militant group Hamas. Dweik is
one of dozens of Hamas officials to be detained by Israeli authorities in
recent weeks. Hamas, which leads the Palestinian government, is illegal in
Israel and regarded as a terrorist organisation. Standing in shackles before
a court in an Israeli prison, Dweik said the court had no right to charge
him. "It is a political trial, and I don't recognise it," Dweik said. "I am
an elected official." Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian cabinet and
a civil rights activist, said the case was politically motivated. "This is a
political abduction, this is an attempt at exercising pressure and political
blackmail, and we feel that this is in violation of all international laws
and conventions, and Israel has to be held accountable." Dweik's lawyers
have complained that he is being held in unsanitary conditions and that his
cell is full of cockroaches.

Mexico
13) Mexico teachers extend protests
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5272462.stm
Duncan Kennedy, BBC News, Tuesday, 22 August 2006, 03:11 GMT 04:11 UK
Striking teachers seized 12 private radio stations in the southern Mexican
city of Oaxaca and set buses on fire, as a long-running protest worsened.
They acted after unidentified gunmen opened fire on a government radio
station already under their control. The strikers used the stations to tell
parents to ignore Monday's start of the school year and keep children at
home. Teachers have been striking since May to demand higher wages and
Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz's resignation.

--------
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
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